Once in Valle
de Bravo, the brief and pleasant drive up to "Finca Enyhe" crosses the
town from end to end. Narrow streets, white walls, balconies with flowers,
Spanish tile roofs, and all kinds of shops keep your eyes and mind
entertained, as you approach the "downtown" or central area of town.
Contrary to other Mexican towns, where the main square is called "La
Plaza", locals in Valle de Bravo call the main square "El Jardin" (the
garden). A "kiosko" (kiosk) and a church sit amid a garden which in turn
is surrounded by several old, two-story buildings. After a right turn,
more shops, some hotels and several restaurants adorn and liven the
roadside. Most of these establishments only open for the weekend, when
visitors from Mexico City travel to Valle de Bravo in order to rest for
one or two days trying to recover from the hustle and bustle of the big
city. In 1521, shortly after the Spanish conquest, the "conquistadores" heard of
a village where the Aztecs made sacrifices in honor to their god of the
sun. Worried that these Aztecs could also use this location as a gathering
place for rebellious warriors, some Spanish soldiers were sent to the
village. This was the way the Spanish began to settle in what is now Valle
de Bravo. For over four centuries, local people earned their living by
plowing the rich land of this region, naturally irrigated with the melted
snow from "El Nevado", which springs out in the form of rivers and streams
that run into the valley. In 1945, modern technology arrived to Valle de Bravo. A new road was made
to communicate the town, and a dam was built in its agricultural valley to
feed a water-powered electrical plant. As a consequence, a beautiful
artificial lake was created, close to an old settlement next to "La Peña",
an ancient rock for Aztec sacrifices. The use of the water that came
through the rivers into the valley changed. Instead of using it for local
irrigation, it was used to generate electricity for Valle de Bravo and for
some other nearby towns. People from Toluca and Mexico City could then
travel by car to visit the town and the new lake located in the middle of
evergreen forests. After some years, the calm and isolated old town had
become a touristic weekend resort. People came in, bought land, and new
weekend houses were built in the town, on the hills and in some far-away
places inside the woods. A big change came for the peasants who now began
offering different types of services as builders, housekeepers, gardeners,
cooks, etc. Today, Valle de Bravo is one of the most important touristic
lakeshores in Mexico. Many families from Mexico City come every weekend to
enjoy the town and practice one of several sports. Sailing, water-skiing,
kayaking, golfing, horseback-riding, mountain-biking, hand-gliding, or
just walking and mingling around the town are all popular activities.
Accommodations for the week
are at Finca Enyhe, a colonial style house built
around a patio with a fountain in the centre
surrounded by impressive verandas with
multicolor hammocks hanging from the columns.
The building reflects the Mexican architecture,
and the individual bedrooms with its private
bathrooms are all decorated with typical
furniture from different parts of Mexico. A
beautiful garden with an amazing variety of
plants, flowers, and fruit trees separates the
house from the old fashioned stalls, with a huge
and very well set tack room, and the riding
arena surrounded by bamboo fences.
Finca Enyhe counts with:
Six beautiful standard rooms all
decorated in Mexican style, each with its
own and exquisite particular decoration.
Most of the bedrooms have their own brick or
iron fireplace.
Each bedroom has a big and comfortable
bathroom, all decorated with hand-painted
tiles. Some of the bathrooms have a Jacuzzi.
The six bedrooms are distributed in
different areas of the house. Two of the
bedrooms are facing the central patio, two
more have the view of the gardens, and the
last two have the swimming pool vista.
A private bungalow with one double room
that faces the beautiful horse stalls.
A library, a TV room, a billiard table
and a small gym.
Outside heated swimming pool (45 Ft.
long) with integrated Jacuzzi (7X7 Ft.).
Several patios, verandas, terraces, and
gardens.
24 stalls, a dressage ring surrounded
with bamboo, and a magnificent tack-room.
Days and nights in Finca Enyhe include:
Breakfast: continental or Mexican
style.
Lunch: some days served on the
terraces of the finca and others as a picnic
during the ride.
Dinner: delicious Mexican style
cuisine. Meals served with purified water,
sodas, beer or wine.
Alcoholic beverages: three drinks
per person per day, not interchangeable.
Note: Special care for vegetarians and other
special diet considerations are available upon
anticipated request.
The sound of some horses make the riders come out of the tack
room. From there, more horses can be seen standing inside the twelve
wooden stalls that are shaded by the same tile roof that can be seen from
the terrace. Each horse is saddled according to its rider's preference.
The match of each rider with the horse he/she will ride during the week is
carefully decided upon based on the knowledge, experience, and preferences
specified in the bookings. Tied from one pole, stands a buckskin quarter horse saddled with a black
western saddle with silver ornaments. On the other side, stands another
quarter horse, this one a roan, saddled with a Mexican seat with a
"machete" hanging from its left side. The next horse is a chestnut
trakhener, about 17.5 hands tall, and its English saddle is a Stübben! A
bay trakhener, as big as the first one, has a Mexican saddle and some
nice-looking saddle bags are hanging from each side. The most spectacular
horse is a palomino with a reddish Western saddle that shines as much as
the horse's golden coat. Another huge bay trakhener, this one a mare and
saddled with a Crosby, peeks out from inside one of the stalls. An
appendix horse, tied to another pole, shows off a Mexican saddle with a
"machete" on the left side and a "sarape" tied to the back. Two bay
horses, maybe quarter or appendix, inside contiguous stalls, are saddled
Western and English style. A big, strong, light buckskin quarter horse
with an old Mexican saddle has a "falsa rienda" on his head instead of a
bridle and bit. The hosts explain that this is only used while the
"caporal" finishes breaking and training the horse. Tied to the last pole,
a gray mare, almost white, has a black Western saddle; it looks like a
Spanish horse because of her long mane and tail. The hosts explain that
she's an "Aztec" horse, a new Mexican breed achieved by crossing a Spanish
horse with quarter or criollo mares. A chestnut horse is inside the
stalls, saddled English style. It looks like a tall thoroughbred. Last but
not least, a big black head with long ears peeps out of his stall. It is
"Don Sabino", the mule that will carry every day's lunch. Today, "Don
Sabino" is resting because the ride will be short, but as of the following
day, riders will have to keep an eye on him, especially around mid-day.
Some more horses are inside the other stalls. They are unsaddled, waiting
to see if a rider has a problem with the horse that has been selected for
him or her.
One by one,
under the supervision of the hosts, the riders mount their horses. Two
grooms take care of the length of the stirrups while the hosts give a
short explanation to each rider about the horse he/she will ride. When
horse and rider are ready, they are led into the arena, so that they can
become familiar with one another, and if necessary, the riders receive
some more advice. First a walk, then a trot and, at the end, a short
canter is done by each rider before the next one comes into the arena.
Waiting for their turn, some of the horses that are still tied to the
poles are eager to join the group and nervously begin turning to one side
and to the other. Others are almost asleep, paying no attention to the
group working inside the arena. Grooms come and go from one horse to
another, helping riders get mounted. Some turkeys are running away from
the movement of the arena and join a group of hens and a silver-colored
rooster that are digging on a horse's manure near the empty poles. One of
the riders goes inside the arena with his camera and takes pictures of the
already mounted ones. Lots of movement, familiar horse noises and smells,
a mixture of languages, the emotion of riding a new horse, and maybe the
surprise of using a different saddle, make of this moment an unforgettable
one.
The natural phenomena of the Monarch
Butterfly migration was recently discovered.
During the 1960s a group of Canadian and
American scientists began wondering what
happened to the butterflies they saw in
their gardens during the summer as they
disappeared during the winter. The
scientists decided to mark and follow the
butterflies and after several years of hard
research in the late 1970s they finally
ended in the central mountains of Mexico
where these beautiful insects come to
hibernate.
Every year the Monarch Butterflies return to
the same high mountains located in the
states of Mexico and Michoacan. These
mountains are part of the Transverse
Neovolcanic Chain that runs from the Eastern
Sierra Madre until it joins the Western
Sierra Madre. As its name says, many
volcanoes are located in this area, and
several of them are still alive. From the
9,000 and up to the 12,000 feet over sea
level these mountains are covered with dense
fir tree forests. The Monarch Butterflies
come to these fir tree forests looking for
shelter against the wind, the rain and the
cold. At the same time, this forest provides
the butterflies with food and humidity to
keep them alive during their hibernation
period.
Coming from the Eastern side of Canada and
the USA, the Monarchs fly more than 4,000 kilometres to arrive to Mexico during the
last days of October or the first days of
November. On November the 2 nd , the Mexican
people celebrate the traditional festivity
of the Day of the Dead and an old legend
tells that these butterflies are the souls
of dead people coming back to visit their
beloved ones. From 60 to 90 millions of
Monarchs arrive each year to the same five
or six sites; and the high density of them
transforms the evergreen fir trees into
beautiful orange/brown trees.
After four months in hibernation, these
marvelous insects become active again and
get ready to fly back to the north. The
butterflies mate in the fir tree forest and
with their last energy reserves depart from
Mexico around March 21 st . They will barely
make half of the journey back to the place
from where they came. Most of them will lay
their eggs on the milkweed plant found in
the Southern states of the USA and then die.
With the beginning of spring, millions of
eggs hatch on the milkweeds. The
caterpillars eat the leaves of this plant
and take advantage of its poison in order to
become poisonous butterflies for the birds
that would like to kill them. This new
generation of Monarchs will continue flying
to the north until they reach the place from
where their parents began flying several
months before. After a short life of only 2
to 6 weeks this generation will mate, lay
their eggs and die. This process continues
during spring and summer when Monarchs with
a short life span brighten up thousands of
gardens in Eastern Canada and USA.
The Monarch Butterflies born during
September have a different and special
destiny. They will have to fly south looking
for warmer latitudes in Mexico in order to
escape from the cold winter. This special
generation will have a very long life span
of about eight months. They will make the
amazing journey to the Mexican mountainous
fir tree forest. They will arrive exactly to
the same trees from where their ancestors
departed several generations ago.
Up to now humans have not been able to
understand how Monarch Butterflies can find
their way through 4,000 kilometers while
crossing different types of country with a
great diversity of weathers. This is an
incredible miracle that shows how little
science knows about mother nature!
No words can describe in it's full dimension what this
natural phenomenon is like. Not any photograph or video can compare to
seeing something like this for oneself, in this fir tree forest. A
picture or even a moving image can't do for your soul, what being there
can. Being there, you understand that there's nothing like experiencing
the phenomenon in person... it's really the only way that one can truly
appreciate it. Thousands and thousands of butterflies. Some are lying on the floor,
looking for the warm rays of the sun. Others, already warm, fly, in
search of food or water. Many more are hanging from trunks and branches,
transforming the trees in such a way that the human eye is easily
deceived; the fir trees wear a disguise made of butterflies that makes
them look like oak trees. The orange color of the Monarch Butterflies' wings shows up brilliantly
when they are flying. When they're not flying and close their wings,
these turn into different shades of brown. So, what initially looks like
dead oak leaves, are in fact bunches and bunches of these marvelous
insects piled one over the other, in an effort to keep warm and protect
themselves from the wind and rain. They don't move until the rays of the
sun stimulate them to shake their wings and fly again. That moment when the sun streams into the forest and the butterflies
begin flying is beyond description. One can even hear the sound of their
wings. It is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience!!! You don't dare
talk or move; all five senses are focused on witnessing and enjoying the
grandiose nature of what you are living. The truth is that the only way
to know what this is like is to experience it.
YOUR HOSTS
The hosts, Lucia and Pepe Schravesande, speak fluent
English and personally take care of all the details
of the accommodations, meals, route, horses, and
tack.
A team of smilingly and gracious wranglers make all
the work of cleaning, feeding, and saddling the
horses. Everyday the group is accompanied by one of
the hosts that guides through the route and by two
wranglers that help the riders whenever they may
need it.
The
variety of flavors of the Mexican kitchen is offered
to the guests with hygienic procedures and the home
made food gives them the opportunity to taste
different dishes every day. Breakfast includes real
fresh fruit and juice, egg dishes, sweetbreads,
coffee, tea, or milk. Lunch is a picnic on the trail
after three hours riding. It includes fresh fruits,
Mexican tortas and tacos, and a variety of cheeses,
meats, cold sodas or beers brought along by a pack
mule that also provides horse-shoes, first aids kit,
medicines for the horses, and all what might be
needed during the daily ride out in the forest.
Having eaten and rested the riders get mounted again
and continue riding for two or three more hours.
Horses stay for the night out in the woods attended
by the wranglers while the riders are taken back by
car to the town of Valle de Bravo. Some riders may
like to mingle around the town and afterwards calmly
walk back to Finca Enyhe. Some others may prefer to
enjoy a spectacular sunset while drinking a
Margarita or Tequila by the side of the swimming
pool. Everyday, exactly at seven thirty, all riders
have together a delicious typical Mexican meal
inside the magnificent dinner room with its big
table and old furniture. During dinner a wide
variety of traditional Mexican dishes are served
accompanied by red and white wine
Eastern side of Canada and
the USA, the Monarchs fly more than 4,000 kilometres to arrive to Mexico during the
last days of October or the first days of
November. On November the 2 nd , the Mexican
people celebrate the traditional festivity
of the Day of the Dead and an old legend
tells that these butterflies are the souls
of dead people coming back to visit their
beloved ones. From 60 to 90 millions of
Monarchs arrive each year to the same five
or six sites; and the high density of them
transforms the evergreen fir trees into
beautiful orange/brown trees. 
